The advocates working with the National Organization for Veterans Advocates, has filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court. The amicus brief asks the Supreme Court to review a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
The issue is over whether a legal principle called “issue exhaustion” applies in veterans’ benefits cases. In a nutshell, “issue exhaustion” means that a veteran is required to raise all of his legal arguments when he is arguing his case before the Board, and if he doesn’t, he waives his right to raise those arguments on a further appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. This is problematic because some veterans do not have advocates when they process their cases before the Board, and they do not know what the advocate is, or what legal arguments they should be raising. The overwhelming majority of veterans are represented by advocates at the Veterans Court.
If the Supreme Court agrees to review the case, it will be one of the very few times that the nation’s highest court has agreed to review a veterans’ benefits case.
Consult with an Advocate Regarding Your Eligibility for Veterans’ Compensation
Our veterans’ benefits advocates have been fighting for veterans’ rights to benefits for decades. We are committed to making every effort to help you receive the benefits you deserve — including by analyzing each legal issue and advising you on areas of advocates of which non-advocates may not even be aware. We welcome you to complete our free veterans benefits case evaluation form to receive our initial assessment of your claims.
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